Current News

Fellowships for Educators

January 2015 – Thanks to a generous grant from the Hemera Foundation, are available for educators interested in participating in a Retreat Center course in 2015.

Hemera's Contemplative Fellowships support growth through contemplative practice in a retreat setting, where mindfulness, compassion, personal well-being and professional efficacy can be cultivated. Educators can then embody and apply these qualities to promote positive school cultures.

Fellowships are open to all teachers and staff currently employed in a pre-K program or K-12 school, or currently enrolled in a Masters of Education program. If you meet these qualifications and would like to pursue this opportunity, please consider applying. If you know others who might be interested, please spread the word.

Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis – more information is available here.

Funding for People of Color and 18-32 Year Olds for Longer-Term Practice in 2015

September 2014 – Thanks to generous donations, funding is available to support a number of experienced people of color meditators and young adults (18-32 year olds) who wish to undertake longer-term practice at IMS in 2015. This is in addition to our ongoing program of financial assistance, which annually supports about a third of our retreatants.

This opportunity forms part of our broader vision to develop more leaders of color within our North American insight community, and to ensure leadership among the next generation of yogis.

For people of color who are unable to afford IMS’s usual fees, we are offering a reduced rate to participate in Part 1 or Part 2 of the 2015 Three-Month Retreat. A reduced rate is also available for one month of personal retreat next year at our Forest Refuge. (Update as of November 2014: Funds for Part 2 have all been allocated. New applications will be added to a wait list.)

For young adults (18-32 year olds) who are unable to afford IMS’s usual fees, we are offering a similar reduced rate to participate in Part 1 or Part 2 of next year’s Three-Month Retreat. (Update as of November 2014: These funds have all been allocated. New applications will be added to a wait list.)

Fees are on a You Choose basis. This means you can establish the rate you are able to pay, at or above $17 per night. (If paying more than $17 per night is possible, it will allow additional yogis to receive support.)

Prior retreat experience is required. For Part 1 and Part 2 of the Three-Month Retreat, the prerequisite is two courses of a week or more with a recognized insight meditation teacher.

At the Forest Refuge, it’s recommended that applicants have participated in at least one six-week structured and teacher-led insight meditation retreat, or six similar one-week retreats.

Since our funds are limited, we will be awarding spaces on a first-come, first-served basis. We encourage those interested to apply as soon as possible. Here’s what to do:

For Part 1 or Part 2 of the Three-Month Retreat, contact our Registration department as soon as possible to request the You Choose rate. You can email registration@dharma.org or call 978-355-4378 ext. 170. A link will then be sent to you to an online registration form that will include questions regarding your application for this fee, as well as other questions related to this particular retreat. Please note that a deposit of $150 will be necessary to secure a space.

For the Forest Refuge, email fr@dharma.org or call 978-355-2063 to indicate interest in applying, as a person of color, for a period of retreat during 2015 at this You Choose rate.

Registration for 2015 Retreat Center Courses Now Open

September 2014 – The full schedule of 2015 courses at the Retreat Center is now available. Some retreats run for a weekend; others last up to three months. Most are suitable for both new and experienced meditators. Our 2015 listing includes themed and identity retreats for mindfulness professionals, women, people of color, teens, 18-32 year olds, and our LGBTQI gender-queer community.

Our 2015 Retreat Schedules leaflet for both of our centers is now in the mail. If you would like to receive a copy and are not on our mailing list, consider signing up.

The book is filled with people's stories from their widely-varied job experiences. Sharon gives us meditations and exercises to help us develop what she calls the eight pillars of happiness in the workplace: balance, concentration, compassion, resilience, communication and connection, integrity, meaning, and open awareness.

This book attempts to explain genuine spiritual realization. When we speak of enlightenment and awakening, what do we mean? What actually occurs when we slip beyond consensus or conventional reality, and why would we undertake such a journey? This book looks at the topography of the journey from beginning to end, the multiple ways we undermine the very growth we seek, the shift in consciousness that does occur, and the life that arises out of that shift.

Recent Books by IMS Teachers

November 2013 – Books by three IMS teachers were published this fall. First out was Love Your Enemies: How To Break the Anger Habit & Be a Whole Lot Happier, by IMS co-founder and guiding teacher Sharon Salzberg and long-time dharma teacher Robert Thurman. In this book, the authors lead readers on a journey through four kinds of enemies we can encounter in life.

Here is Sharon’s description of these four, from the introduction:

"Outer enemies are the people who harass or annoy us, as well as life situations that frustrate or confound us. Inner enemies are the habits of our reactive mind - particularly anger and hatred - that enslave us to and play havoc with our lives. Deeper still we find our secret enemy, the self-absorption that cuts us off from others and from our own loving nature. And finally, there is the super-secret enemy, the deeply entrenched sense of self-loathing that keeps us from realizing our kinship with all beings. The teachings and meditations in this book help us to draw on our own innate wisdom and compassion in order to transform our relationship with our enemies, both inner and outer."

Next to appear was IMS co-founder and guiding teacher Joseph Goldstein’s new book, Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening. From the jacket: “With Mindfulness, Joseph Goldstein shares the wisdom of his four decades of teaching and practice in a book that will serve as a lifelong companion for anyone committed to mindful living and the realization of inner freedom.”

The most recent book to appear was Three Steps to Awakening: A Practice for Bringing Mindfulness to Life, by IMS core teacher Larry Rosenberg, founding teacher of Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, with Laura Zimmerman. “Drawing on the various Buddhist traditions in which he has practiced, [Larry] describes three subtly different but complementary forms of meditation practice: (1) breath awareness, (2) breath as anchor, and (3) choiceless awareness. Having the three methods in one’s repertoire gives one meditation resources for any life situation…. After teaching the three-step method, Larry goes on to show how to bring the awareness gained in meditation to the world off the cushion, into relationships and into all areas of daily life.” (From the Shambhala Publications website)

Three-Month Retreatants Settle into Newly Named Dormitories

September 2013 – On Tuesday, September 10 we welcomed participants to this year's historic Three-Month Retreat. For the first time in IMS’s history, approximately a third of the course participants are people of color, thanks to a generous grant from the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation For American Buddhism. The first full day of the retreat, Wednesday, September 11, coincided with a ceremony to honor the completion of IMS's construction project. At the ceremony, Executive Director Linda Spink announced new names for all dormitories, recently approved by IMS's Board:

The new dormitory is named Bodhi House. Bodhi in Sanskrit means 'awakened.'

The Catskills is now named Karuna House. Karuna in Pali and Sanskrit means 'compassion.'

The Annex is now named Shanti House. Shanti in Sanskrit means 'peace.'

By adding the word 'House' after each name, accommodation buildings are differentiated from other Retreat Center facilities.

This panorama shows the new Retreat Center dormitory, Bodhi House (L), the enclosed walkway connecting it to both Shanti House (formerly the Annex, at rear) and the new stair tower at the end of Karuna House (formerly the Catskills, R).

Single Rooms for All is Now a Reality

June 2013 – With the start of this year's People of Color Retreat on Saturday, June 15, the new Retreat Center dormitory welcomed its first occupants. Our vision to offer single rooms for all retreatants at both our centers is finally a reality.

The Catskills dormitory is now closed as extensive renovations are underway. On completion, planned for early September, all its accommodations will also be singles. For the latest project photos and updates, visit our construction news page.

A single room in the new dormitory.

The Forest Refuge Celebrates its 10th Anniversary

May 2013 – Friday, May 10, 2013 marked the 10th Anniversary of the Forest Refuge, IMS's center for personal, longer-term retreat practice. Since the facility opened in May, 2003 over 1,500 retreatants sat more than 3,200 retreats for a total of over 84,000 days of practice.

The anniversary celebration, led by lay and monastic teachers, was attended by about 70 friends of IMS including teachers, staff, retreatants and volunteers.

Participants gathered around the Forest Refuge meadow Buddha for the ceremony. Flowers, incense and water were set out in preparation for the blessing.